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A Vintage Gown + Gorgeous Florals Make For An Incredible Iowa Wedding

Jun 7

Bride’s Names, Age, Job and where she lives: Grace (Gordon) Abney (25). I am a pediatric oncology nurse at the Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City, IA Groom’s Name, Age, Job and where he lives: Ethan Abney (26). He is a Learning Consultant for Cengage and also lives in Iowa City, IA How you […]

A Vintage Gown + Gorgeous Florals Make For An Incredible Iowa Wedding

Bride’s Names, Age, Job and where she lives:

Grace (Gordon) Abney (25). I am a pediatric oncology nurse at the Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City, IA

Groom’s Name, Age, Job and where he lives:

Ethan Abney (26). He is a Learning Consultant for Cengage and also lives in Iowa City, IA

How you two met:

We met freshman year of college at Clarke University in Dubuque, IA at a group outing.

What was your first impression of each other?:

I thought he was super goofy but sweet and Ethan’s first impression was “I couldn’t believe how nice and funny you were and how much we had in common”.

When did each of you know you were in love?:

I knew I was in love with Ethan on one of our many late night talks in the dorms. It sounds cheesy but I looked at him after a long conversation about what we love, believe in and want in the future and just knew. Ethan has the dame thought. No specific moment comes to mind for him, he just knew one day!

How did the proposal happen?:

Ethan took a day off of work to drive an hour and a half in the rain to Dubuque to decorate the 4 th St Elevator (we had visited this elevator on some of our first dates and throughout college, you can see the Mississippi River as well as Dubuque, Wisconsin and Illinois). He had set it up with lights, mums and pumpkins and got down on one knee at the top and asked me to marry him! He also planned for a surprise photographer to capture the moment!

Style of the wedding:

I guess you could call it vintage winery!

Colors:

Burgundy, blush and gold accents

Theme:

Vintage Romantic

Anything unique happen or with decor?:

My wonderful mother actually hand made all of the decorations you see in the pictures including the flower arrangements and centerpieces! It ended up saving us a ton of money vs fresh flowers and still looked stunning! We also exchanged gifts beforehand. Ethan got me a personalized plate by an artist we found while shopping locally in downtown Iowa City. I found a piece she had
made that looked just like us and bought it on the spot. Ethan told her the story and was she said she was happy to make a personalized wedding gift based off of the original plate! As for my gift to Ethan, he collects the book “The Hobbit” by JRR Tolkien. I tracked down a 2 nd edition 8 th impression version from England and had it shipped here for him.

If you had to pick a favorite moment of the day what would it be?:

I think that personally, my favorite part of the day was the first look. Even though our loved ones surrounded us, it felt like it was just the two of us there and was such a wonderful, private, happy moment. This was closely followed by sitting down at the head table and taking in all of the wonderful people that had traveled near and far to help celebrate with us. Ethan agrees that his favorite moment was the reveal as well and the trolley ride we took with our bridal party to our favorite spots around Dubuque.

What was the most fun part of the wedding to plan?:

We think the part that was the most fun to plan was the food and cake! Getting
to taste all that wonderful food was awesome!